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Whether you are faced with COVID-19 or other stresses, work life balance for any online entrepreneur is tough because it’s easy to not stick to boundaries. You most likely started your online business to have more time freedom, but wonder why you have no life out-side work right now.
We, Jen and Elke Clarke, have been online entrepreneurs for over 10 years and we have been in this situation in the past. We believed that in order to be successful in our online business, we had to sacrifice other aspects of our life and let work take over all of our time.
In episode 19 of The Creative and Ambitious Entrepreneur Podcast, we will share the ways we created a work life balance for ourselves so you too can create a work life balance that is aligned with your dream life.
But before we dive right in, let us introduce ourselves in case this is your first visit. Welcome to The Creative and Ambitious Entrepreneur Podcast. We’re your hosts, Jen and Elke Clarke. We are a mother and daughter team that started Zazzle e-commerce businesses over 10 years ago. We have sold over 15 million dollars-worth and counting of products on Zazzle.
The Creative and Ambitious Entrepreneur Podcast is for you, the creative. We share actionable steps that you can take to make money in your e-commerce business. In each episode, we will take you one step closer to achieving freedom with your time, location, and finances.
We believe that a profitable e-commerce business is what opens the doors for you to start living your dream life if you work smarter, not harder, use the right tools and follow the proven roadmap. We’re here to give you the tools you need to make your dream life happen. Let’s get started!
Check out the highlights below from podcast episode 19 for the tips you can use to create a work life balance which aligns with your priorities. For all details, listen to the ENTIRE episode of The Creative and Ambitious Entrepreneur Podcast on your preferred streaming platform.
When you started your online business you made the decision to become an entrepreneur in order to create a better life for yourself. You had dreams of doing what you love, having financial freedom and time freedom. Your online business was going to give you the opportunity to finally do ______ (fill in the blank) once it was successful.
The problem is that people can’t realistically put their lives on hold while building an online business. Sacrificing time, relationships, physical health and mental well-being, for the sake of that amazing business that will give you everything you want makes no sense.
Instead, make a commitment to yourself right now, that you can have a work life balance whether you are starting, building or maintaining your online business. Tell us if this is true for you. The only thing stopping you is your belief that in order for your business to succeed you have to make sacrifices in all other areas of your lives. (Not true BTW.)
If you build your priorities into how you run your business, you will be better at running your business and an all round happier person.
When you have a job, you know you have to work for X hours from Y to Z time and get ABC done because someone told you to do it. If you do you get paid, if you don’t you get fired. When we become online entrepreneurs, we think these habits don’t apply anymore. We may want the freedom, but we still need structure.
Create a schedule and stick to it. A schedule which has a balance of work and life activities that suit your needs as an entrepreneur and person. You may feel energized by working long hours.
If so, then do so but add into your schedule break periods or take weekends off. You may like working late at night after the kids are in bed. Then take a nap during the day when the kids are in school so that you get 8 hours sleep.
Schedule time for work, as well as at least self care, family and friends, fitness and spiritual time. Then respect yourself by keeping to the schedule you created. The hardest part will be to get the work done in the time you set because that is the new part and will stress you out the most. Look for ways to become more productive, efficient or get help.
Once you form this habit of prioritizing more than just work, you will begin to see the benefits in all aspects of your life. Each will help you become a better more capable person to be successful as an online entrepreneur.
You’ve aligned your business with your priorities, set your schedule and committed to sticking to it. Awesome. But, even with the best intentions, this will all fail if you do not have a support system to help you carry out your plans. So let’s talk about some options for you right now.
Work support systems could include:
1- automating tasks
2- hiring out simple repetitive tasks
3- becoming more efficient at the tasks
4- stop doing unnecessary tasks
5- follow a proven plan to avoid wasting time
6- create a designated workspace with no distractions
7- use productivity techniques including timers or accountability groups to keep you to task
Life support systems could include:
1- stay accountable by making dates with friends and family for social time or go to a fitness class with a buddy
2- set up a designated space in your house or apartment where you can easily start your self care routine, like meditating, journaling, or doing an activity that you love which will recharge and rejuvenate you
3- sign up for a training class to keep learning, be inspired, be around other like-minded entrepreneurs, have a sense of community and also be accountable to show up
4- communicate with your family and friends to set boundaries between work and play so you don’t feel guilty and they don’t resent you
Your situation will be different than everyone else’s, so take these suggestions and make them your own. The key is to set up life balance activities that have an accountability aspect to them until you become better at doing these on your own.
To create a work life balance aligned with your life’s priorities, while still thriving in your online business, aim for the following to be in place:
1. Align your business with your life’s priorities. You started this online business to have a better life. Start now. You don’t have to wait until you have made X dollars before you create new habits and live how you want to live. This is about taking the time to focus on your #1 asset in your business, YOU.
2. Set and stick to a balanced schedule, one that gives you time to run your business and take care of your mental, physical and spiritual well-being.
3. Create a support system for each of your work and your life, so that you are held accountable to both.
We are excited to hear from you about what you will change to create the perfect work life balance for you.
Thank you so much for checking out The Creative and Ambitious Entrepreneur Podcast! We hope this episode has given you actionable steps to start and scale your Zazzle business so your passive online income can give you the location and time freedom to live your dream life.
If you enjoyed this episode please take a minute to subscribe, rate, and review the podcast. Each review helps us reach more creative entrepreneurs like you working to create a profitable e-commerce business.
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@msjenclarke and @elkeclarke
We’d love to hear your biggest takeaways from the episode. See you back here next week!
Jen and Elke Clarke are a mother-daughter duo that empowers women entrepreneurs to make money online. Through courses and coaching, Jen and Elke help women (and men) become successful creative entrepreneurs on Zazzle and e-commerce. Combined Jen and Elke have sold over 15 million dollars-worth of products, and earned over $1.5 million combined through their businesses on Zazzle. Jen and Elke have influenced and transformed the lives of hundreds of thousands of people worldwide with their free content, paid and private coaching.
They are international, award-winning authors. Click the links to purchase their books through Amazon: Earn Around The World and Create Online and Grow Rich.
Jen and Elke Clarke have been featured in Yahoo Finance as TOP 5 e-commerce coaches.
